Hope Schoening - Fashion, Art, and Wisdom
Hope Schoening - May 2026 - Photograph by Lorynn Hunt
Finding oneself takes time. The amount? Well, a lifetime to be exact. It is a discovery that is simply based on experiences, fully enticing and yet utterly terrifying. One gradually finds themselves where mistakes and wisdom meet. The combative nature of the mind must settle in the depths of honesty and it is in this place where one come realize fatality, making some things have an air of insignificance. When hit with a reckoning, it is then a light revealing the steps one must take on their path, one that is uniquely their own. No one can live your life but yourself, it is a published first draft, and that in itself is art.
Hope Schoening, 21, has embodied life as art through her vibrant creativity and zest for the magnitude of unparalleled fashion.
"Fashion and self-identity means a lot to me. The second I realized I can really express the way I feel in just an outfit I put on, it felt like an opening into a whole new world. I can really just do whatever I want that really portrays me. What a fun way to express who you are versus having to try and hide it to fit in whatever standard someone else deems is good."
When thinking of one word to describe Schoening, grace comes to mind. It gives a strong sense of how she seams together the fabric of personal freedom to make mistakes and intentionality of finding wisdom.
"I think growing up with five siblings, you kind of have to be because I'm watching a lot. I watched a lot of them move out of state and beyond that, so I think I've just seen a lot of lives play out in front of me. I've just been taking bits and pieces from everyone's choices and kind of gauging mine off of that."
In response through a discussion about not only listening to wisdom but living in order have our own wisdom, Schoening states,
"Humans are made to make mistakes. And that's actually our way of learning. So you can have something laid out in front of you and told to you, but if you don't make a mistake and then learn the correct answer, it's harder for your brain to learn. It’s meant to be experienced. Thats the fun of it."
Hope Schoening - May 2026 - Photograph by Lorynn Hunt
In her last year of college, Schoening while working full time for the Wabash County Museum in marketing, has used her stylist eye and artist talents to champion history. She has crafted an unmistakable voice for the vision of the museum. Thankful for the opportunity to work with a team that is not only passionate but pushing the boundaries of what a museums legacy can be, she explains,
"I like the environment there because it is very spontaneous and we're such a small team. I am able to bring in my own ideas and they are heard versus where in sometimes larger companies it's hard for those things to be shared properly or for people to take it seriously. Here we're all fully in on this and we all know who's doing what. We can bring in ideas or discuss certain opportunities with each other. I have a lot of fun being able to do that."
She continues in crediting Teresa Galley, the executive director at the Wabash County Museum, and her masterful mind behind shedding the stereotype of old dusty books and lifeless artifacts.
"She really wanted to show how much life there is in history. When I came in we started with a pallet of colors and designed it to show that there is a modern connection to the historical aspect of what the museum is."
When asked what her ultimate dream life would be, she once again discusses the idea of bring all of her passions to life.
"Let's just say I love fashion, art and travel. I've always said whenever someone asks me what the things I love are, I've always said those three things. I just love every form of art and then I just love to see the world. I love seeing people and seeing the different cultures. If I could do that every day, all the time, I would a hundred percent do that."
If there is anything to know about the direction to which Schoening is going, it is that she is going places. With her broad talents and her artful dreams, there is no doubt her voice will stay utterly uniquely hers. Maybe one day, the story of Schoening's journey may be displayed in the very place it started, full of luminous life and timeless grace.
